How much is an Air Canada Aeroplan mile worth?

Methodology
I have used Apple products to value an aeroplan mile as:
- Apple has strict control over who its distributors are and what the distributors price Apple products at
- An apple product are priced identically in every store and online outlet
- Apple products are rarely discounted, and if they are discounted, the discounts are never significant (e.g. compared to a Playbook, which is sold between $199 to $499).
Thus, Apple products are a good metric to use compared to other branded products

The results are as follows:-
As at November 12, 2011, the value of the Aeroplan mile is determined as follows:

• Apple iPad 2 (16GB with wi-fi) - 72,500 miles = $519 --> $7.15 per 1000 miles.
• Apple 8GB iPod Nano – 18,000 miles = $129 --> $7.16 per 1000 miles
• Apple 2GB iPod shuffle – 8,000 miles = $49 --> $6.13 per 1000 miles

Thus, 1000 aeroplan miles is worth about $7.00 Canadian Dollars.

What does this mean?
It means that if Air Canada officials can ever be bribed, this is how much money you will need to earn status:

• Prestige status = 25,000 miles, or $175
• Elite status = 35,000 miles, or $245
• Superelite status = 100,000 miles, or $700

Of course, Air Canada protects themselves by requiring you to earn "status miles" (i.e. miles accumulated from flights) and not just shopping miles. Thus, they would earn a lot more if you fly 100,000 miles worth of flights, which is about 14 return economy flight between Toronto and London UK, or about $20,000.

Have fun collecting miles!

November 12, 2011